CRUISING THROUGH THE ANNALS OF MEMORY VAN NUYS' VINTAGE VEHICLES RECALL ERA.Byline: Sabrina Decker Staff Writer VAN NUYS - More than 100 vintage cars strutted their stuff Sunday along Van Nuys Boulevard - an ``American Graffiti''-style cruising, parking and stomping ground stomp·ing ground n. A customary territory or favorite gathering place. Also called stamping ground. in decades past - as part of the third annual Millennium Car Show. The show, hosted by and located along Auto Row, featured a wide range of vintage and hot rod hot rod Automobile rebuilt or modified for high speed, fast acceleration, or sporty appearance. A wide range of automobiles may be called hot rods, including some of those used in drag racing as well as those used in recreational cruising. automobiles, including many models that could be seen cruising the boulevard in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. ``This isn't the car I had back then, this is the car I dreamed of having back then!'' Carlos Novo of Van Nuys said of his souped-up 1970 Plymouth Barracuda The Plymouth Barracuda, or 'Cuda (after 1970), is a two-door coupe/convertible muscle car that was manufactured by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1964 through 1974. . He spent eight years working on the dark purple roadster. Back in the late '70s he cruised the boulevard in a mini-pickup. ``They were popular back then,'' he said, smiling at the memory. ``We had fun, in 1979 and 1980, we had a lot of fun here,'' said Mindy Arner, who like many came to relive the nostalgia. ``These cars are really a lot nicer than the cars we had back then,'' said Gil Rocha, a vintage and hot-rod auto aficionado A Spanish word that means fan, devotee, enthusiast, etc. There are loyal aficionados of every subject in the computer field. from Lancaster. ``Ours were really junk!'' Cars at the show on Sunday represented hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of chrome and metal, all lovingly restored, refurbished or redesigned and rebuilt. They included a sky-blue convertible 1957 Ford Thunderbird, a Helms Bakery truck dating from 1931, a 1932 Packard sedan and a candy-apple red 1966 Corvette corvette, small warship, classed between a frigate and a sloop-of-war. Corvettes usually were flush-decked and carried fewer than 28 guns. They were widely employed in escorting convoys and attacking merchant ships during the great naval wars of the late 18th and convertible. All were seen by a panel of judges Panel of Judges is an indie pop band from Melbourne, Australia. Members
Last year's winner of Best of Show - a burgundy 1940 Ford Coupe Deluxe, rebuilt with a 1953 Mercury motor - was also displayed. Its owner, Dan Stout of Chatsworth, said he had one that looked like it back when he was in high school. ``It's nostalgia,'' Marty Carlin car·line or car·lin n. Scots A woman, especially an old one. [Middle English kerling, from Old Norse, from karl, man.] said of his bright red 1955 Thunderbird thunderbird In North American Indian mythology, a powerful spirit in the form of a bird that watered the earth and made vegetation grow. Lightning was believed to flash from its eyes or beak, and the beating of its wings was thought to represent rolling thunder. . ``It's a head turner, a one-man parade. Everyone waves at you and wants to tell you stories about them. I always wanted one as a kid. Now I can afford it!'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Car fans marvel at a Ford Cobra engine in a 1929 Ford Roadster. (2) Crowds check out the vintage cars and hot rods on display Sunday on Van Nuys Boulevard. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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